Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hello! Today I have a very simple masculine card to show you. I always keep my male cards 'simple' because I know that's what men prefer. Sorry for the bad photograph. I had to take the picture very early in the morning so the light was 'very blue', and that along with a 'very blue' card, resulted in a bad photo. The image is a new release from McMahon Vintage Digitals 'Tennis Anyone?'. The sketch is by Taylored Expressions. The paper is retired Stampin Up! 'Bella Birds'. The sentiment is from Crafty Secrets. Be sure to check out the McMahon Five Designs Blog to see the rest of this week's new releases. And while your at it, check out my fellow Design Team Members Blogs as well. They are listed in my sidebar.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is called 'Flower Power'; simply make a card or projects with lots of flowers on it and be sure to use at least one digital element. Our sponsor this week is Karen's Doodles and they are giving away 3 digis to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

To make my card, I used the Karen's Doodles image Butterfly Baby Girl. Isn't she adorable? I'm wasn't familiar with Karen's images before this challenge, but after viewing her beautiful artwork, I think I've become a big fan! I just love her style! My sketch is by 'I Heart Sketches', the paper is My Mind's Eye 'Stella Rose'; which I think is becoming my favorite new paper pad of all time. The prints and colors are just gorgeous! The main image is up on dimensionals, and I put Stickles on the butterflies and flowers. The flower embellie next to the sentiment is by Martha Stewart. The quote is from Paper Fashions 'Planting Playful Words' sentiment set.

Here is a close up for you:If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the challenge site with further instructions.

Hello! Today I have a Penny Black card to show you for the Penny Black Allsorts Challenge Blog. The challenge was to 'Use Your Favorite Penny Black image and make anything you want'. That sounds simple enough, eh? Well, in all honestly, I don't have a favorite Penny Black image, because I love them all. So I just chose to use this cute teddy bear image from 'Teddy & Co'. The sketch is from The Sweet Shop, and the paper is 'My Mind's Eye' by Stella Rose. I stamped the flowers twice, cut the second bouquet out, and popped them up on dimensionals. Then I added a few Stickles to the flower centers.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Well it's been so cold here in West Central Wisconsin that I was in the perfect mood to make Christmas Cards. Just kidding. I was not in the mood at all, I just participate in the Splitcoaststampers Christmas Card Challenge and I make four Christmas Cards a month so I don't have to make them at all during the busy holiday season. But it is cold here, it is so depressing. I think we've had three warm days since the season began. Oh, how I just long for warmer weather when I can wear nothing but cut off shorts, a tank top, and flip flops and be warm. I guess I better just move to Florida. Well, enough of weather complaints, onto my cards:

The first one uses an image from Papertrey Ink. The sketch is from Clean and Simple. Paper is Cosmo Cricket. I put Liquid Applique on the hat and would you believe I had to make the button from felt because I did not have one single large white button in my stash! I could not believe it! I must have a thousand buttons, I love buttons so I 'collect' them and have drawers and containers filled with them! White must be too boring for me, that's why I probably didn't have one. LOL! The three little dots below the sentiment are these cute sparkly, adhesive snow domes I found at a local scrap booking store. They are perfect for Christmas Cards. My second card using an image from Dustin Pike. The sketch is SSD71. The paper is Jolly by Golly also by Cosmo Cricket. I put Liquid Applique on Santa's hat too. He is also up on dimensionals.

My third card uses an image and paper from Doodle Pantry. It's a pre-colored image. I didn't dare try to color an image of Baby Jesus on my own! He needed that 'glow' to look holy. It's hard for me to create a 'glow' with my markers. The layout is from Taylored Expressions 'Blast from the Past' blog hop, the snowflake is an adhesive sparkly foam piece from JoAnn's. I used more of those adhesive snow dome things by the sentiment, and the brads have a really neat soft fuzzy texture.

My last card uses an image called 'Warm Winter Wishes' by Crissy's Digis. The sketch is by The Sweet Shop. I put Liquid Applique (are you beginning to think I really like this stuff? I do!) on all the Penguins clothes and Flower Soft on the ground. The snowflake is from JoAnn's.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Hello! Today I have a new McMahon Vintage Digital to show you called 'Picking the Lilac'. I 'oohed' out loud when I first saw this image. I think it is so beautiful. My sketch is an old Midnight Madness one (MMSC99), and the paper is Prima 'Annalee'. The lace butterfly is from Martha Stewart. The main image is colored with Copics and mounted up on dimensionals. I made the 'fan' using a rosette die from MFT. Be sure to check out the McMahon Five Designs Blog to see the rest of this week's new releases, and while your at it, check out my fellow Design Team Members Blogs as well; they are listed in my sidebar.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I really liked the Mojo Monday Sketch a few weeks ago so much, that I decided to make another card. Here was the first card I made with this sketch. Pictured below is my second card. I used a Bentley Bear image from the free 'With Love' set that I got when I purchased a paper crafting magazine. I love it when a magazine gives me something free. Magazines in general are so expensive, but if I get a free stamp set with it, it makes the cost worth it. The paper is Bo Bunny 'Crazy Love'. Here's a close up of this cute image for you:

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is 'Ice Cream Combos'; simply make a card or project that uses the colors of your favorite ice cream combinations along with at least one digital element. Our sponsor this week is MyGrafico and they are giving away 1 digi set and 20% off an in-store purchase to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

Well my favorite ice cream in the world is Chocolate Almond Fudge, and I really don't like it combined with anything else, but since that was the challenge, I added pink and red to my card because I love vanilla ice cream with either Strawberries or Raspberries on it. To make my card I used a Heather Ellis digital image and I created my own sentiment. The sketch is an old MFT one (MFTWSC13), the paper is Bo Bunny 'Crazy Love'.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Hello! Today I have a Paper Fashions card to show you that uses an image from the set "Birds and Bees". My sketch is by Mojo Monday. The paper is My Mind's Eye 'Stella Rose'. I decorated the inside of the card too using the same image and a sentiment from the set "Thoughts of You".

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is 'Get Out the Gingham!'. Simply make a card or project with Gingham on it: you can use a piece of Gingham fabric, Gingham Ribbon, or Gingham designer paper like I did. Our sponsor this week is Doodle Pantry and they are giving away a $10.00 Gift Voucher to their store to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

To make my card, I used the FREE WITH PURCHASE digi image set "Berry Pie". I absolutely LOVE this set, and I cannot believe it's free! It's so fun and cute! And I love that it comes in both black outline and pre-colored. It also comes with coordinating digital papers and one sentiment. I love it when digi images come with matching digi papers. I don't have to endlessly hunt through my mega stash of papers to find something that coordinates with my image. The work is done for me. My layout is by Mojo Monday. The star is a button from JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Hello! Today I have a Paper Fashions card that uses images from three different sets: "Seed Packet", "Garden Accessories", and "Banner Sentiments". You can find all these digis HERE. I love the 'Seed Packet' image because it makes a really easy card that looks like it has a lot of detail, but is actually really simple. There's no layout or picking designer papers involved; you simply print your Seed Packet to the size of the card you want, and then add your flowers and your done. You can leave your Seed Packet image in black and white, or print it on designer paper, or color it in as I did below. I wanted a more 'aged' look, so I shaded my Seed Packet with Copic Markers. The Seed Packet comes with the sentiment 'Friendship Grows', but I needed an anniversary card, so I used the 'Best Wishes' 'Banner Sentiment' which is sold separately. My sunflowers and watering can are from the 'Garden Accessories' set. I mounted them up on dimensionals.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Hello! Today I have my monthly Hotspot Challenge Card to show you for the Hotspot Challenge Blog. The challenge this month is 'Laser Cut Details'. You can use the photo below for inspiration. Think Laser Cut Embellies, Punches, Spellbinders, Piercing, Doilies, etc. Here is the card I made for the challenge. I used the "If You Truly" image and Cherry Blossoms and Butterflies Digital Designer Paper both from Studio 313 and sold at McMahon Five Designs. For my laser cut details, I thought this Kaisercraft Wood Flourish Magical Butterfly would be PERFECT for the challenge! I then added a corner die cut for even more laser cut details. The sentiment is up on dimensionals and I put Stickles in the centers of the flowers

Here's a close up of the laser cut butterfly.

And here is a close up of the sentiment.

If you'd like to play along with us, you still have 21 days left, you could win $25.00 in digis from the McMahon Five Designs Store! So what are you waiting for? Get going and visit the Hotspot Challenge Blog for all the details on how to play along.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Hi everyone! It's new release day over at McMahon Five Designs. For today's post I'm showing a card that used pre-colored digital images, digi papers, and sentiment from Studio 313. It's called 'Modern Flowers-Chocolate'. This card was so quick and easy to make; my kind of card since it's such a busy time of year for me with my garden and all. All the digital papers and images match so perfectly, all I had to do was cut, assemble and go! I added an embossed panel of Stampin Up! 'So Saffron' card stock. I couldn't believe how well the embossing folder matched the designer papers.

Be sure to check out the McMahon Five Designs Blog to see all the rest of this week's new releases. And while your at it, visit my fellow design team members blogs as well, they are listed in my sidebar. You may notice quite a few new names, we've added some new designers to our team, so be sure to welcome them.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Warning! This post has lots and lots of pictures. Were having a heat wave here in Wisconsin, so I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. so I could get SOME garden chores done before it got too unbearable outside, and I couldn't believe what a gorgeous morning it was. The music the birds were making was so beautiful, I just had to sit on my garden bench and just be still, just so I could hear their singing. I love summer. I love never being cold. I love going to bed with just a tank and undies, and not having to cover myself from head to toe just to stay warm. I love waking up and throwing on a pair of jean shorts and flip flops in the morning and just step outside and go 'ahhh!' I'm not cold. The weather is beautiful. The birds are singing. I'm warm, I'm warm, I'm warm. We don't have air conditioning, I hate it. I love having the windows open and hearing the birds and feeling the breeze coming through. Although it was 95 degrees yesterday, I felt perfectly comfortable last night and fell fast asleep. My husband on the other hand was another story. He had trouble sleeping and kept asking me 'Aren't you hot?'. ""Nope", was my reply, "I feel PERFECT!" Anyway, because I was outside so early this morning, the lighting was perfect for photographs. I took 65 pictures! But I won't bore you with them all. Here are the ones I 'narrowed' down too:

Right now the Peony's and Iris are in full bloom. Some of my early blooming peonies are actually done already and sadly I didn't photograph them in time. I have about 13 peony bushes in my yard. I just love them (but I say that about every flower). Below is a common pink peony with a Salvia in front and some pink Soap Wort.

Here's a pink peony bush with some common yellow iris behind.

And a close up of this beauty.

Has anyone ever heard of the Lilac bush 'Little Princess'? It's suppose to be a small lilac bush perfect for small landscapes. Well, look at mine. It's a monster! It's got to be about 10 or 12 feet tall. I love it. It's my favorite lilac bush. The smell is unbelievable. You can smell it the second you step out of your car or off my front porch.

Here is a rust Iris. I don't have too many of these. They are beautiful, but not as prolific as the purple or yellow ones are.

Here's a close up of my common yellow iris. If anyone ever wants iris bulbs, come on over! Every year I divide them and I have so many I usually just throw them over the fence.

This is a far away shot (my neighbor's view of my yard) looking at my house. You can see all the yellow and purple Iris in bloom.

This is another view of my yard from my neighbor's viewpoint.

You see this flower growing wild along the roadways, but I love it in my garden. It's called Dames Rocket. It's perfect for shady spots.

Here is a ring of hostas around a maple tree.

This is a red poppy. I love poppys. I only wish they'd last longer. They have the shortest blooming season of any perennial I know. I have orange poppys too, but they aren't quite in full bloom yet.

This purple iris is the one I have the most of in my yard. It was on the property when I bought it, so I just kept on dividing it. It's very prolific and it has a beautiful scent. I love to bring them into the house to put in a vase. They fill the air with their sweet perfume.

This is a side view of my garden shed. I wanted you to see the 'snowball bush' or viburnum. I have two of these bushes. I absolutely love them. They stay in bloom so long and are quite the showstoppers.

This is one of the early blooming peonies I told you about earlier. I managed to get one good picture before she is gone for the year.

This is the far Southwest corner of my yard. The lilac bush by the shed grew so much bigger than we thought it would. But EVERYTHING grows so much bigger than we thought it would in my yard. I don't know if I have good soil or what. I swear I do nothing but plant and water.

This is one of my favorite perennials. It's so low maintenance. It's called Goatsbeard. It stays in bloom for over a month or two, and the foliage is always attractive.

Here is a Burgundy peony.

These are ornamental onions. Aren't they gorgeous! And they are HUGE too!

This is my favorite Iris in my garden. It's a beautiful sky blue. I don't have too many of these, so I really treasure them.

Here's a view looking down into my garden. That gigantic 'Little Princess' lilac bush is on the bottom.

This is a picture of a Foxglove spire which is just starting to bloom, with a blue geranium and yellow iris.

A field of yellow iris.

Another view looking down into my yard at all the Iris below.

And finally, my pond. I think in my last garden post when I showed you this picture all the crab apple trees were in bloom, along with some tulips and daffodils, now their blooms have gone, and the Iris are stealing the show. It always amazes me how all season long the garden changes from wave of beauty to another.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is called "In the Garden": simply make a card or project that is garden themed and be sure to include at least one digital image. Our sponsor this week is Spesch Designer Stamps and they are giving away 3 digis to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

For my card I used the Spesch Designer Stamp 'Meadow Girl' which is designed by Sylvia. I love this image. It reminds me of myself, not my physical self, I'm not young or blond, rather my spiritual self or how I feel when I'm in my garden. The paper is DCWV 'All About Girls' and is very sparkly in real life. I added more sparkle by putting Stickles on the flowers and adhesive gems on the sentiment panel. Here's a close up of this cutie for you:

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.

Hello everyone, I am back from winter break. I had a great time with the kids all week and I'm sure I'll be sharing some of our ...

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